Everything else is at the bottom
by celticgothhardy
Summary: Stella's in charge of the lab after Mac disappears. But why did Mac disappear? It's up to Stella to find out. SMacked on the last chapter. Now complete
1. Beaten

Disclaimer: I do not own _CSI New York. _You know what would happen if I did?

Summary: Stella's leader of the lab as Mac is missing. But why? Sequel to Taxi remade.

AN: I got the idea for a part of it (not the selling of information, the other part that will be revealed in a later chapter) from a story called 'Family Secrets' by blackphantom. It's a good story set in NCIS fandom. If I told you what the main point of that story was, then I would be letting in the major part of this story that I want to save until later.

_

* * *

Four Months Earlier, A few days after Mac and Flack arrest the Cabbie Killer._

"Adam, are you sure about this?" Stella asked as she read the printout Adam handed her.

Adam shook his head. "I didn't mean to run it the first time. After I saw it, I ran it two more times. I still don't believe it, but the DNA says otherwise." She wordlessly nodded and took the paper and started walking to Mac's office. She waited for Danny to leave before walking in.

"What do you need, Stella?" he asked, facing her.

"Adam ran Reed's DNA through the databases," she started. Mac had the edges of anger starting before she continued. "Accidently. He ran it two more times after to confirm the findings." She handed the paper over.

Mac stared at the paper for a moment before going on. "This can't be possible." He slumped into his chair.

"Mac," Stella simply said, speechless herself. After a minute of quiet, she asked the question that was plaguing her. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Not unless he absolutely needs to know."

**JA SB DF **** SH SH ****DM LM AR MT**

Jason Echolls was waiting for his payday. He had a month before the trial for his murders. _And little Reed's kidnapping, can't forget that. _He made it known that he knew Mac Taylor's weakness. Within five minutes, he already had several bids for the knowledge.

Now, several of the people that Mac had put away were hovering below him. He could spot DJ Pratt, who had killed his former CSI, Aiden Burn. He saw Henry Darius, who was talking to Joe Briggs. He had heard little of the suspects here except for Pratt, Drew Bedford and Sonny Sassone. He saw Drew and DJ together and figured out who would be the winner of the outcome.

"All right gentlemen. Let the bidding begin for the knowledge of Mac Taylor's Achilles Heel. I'll start the bidding at one hundred."

"One fifty."

"Two hundred."

"Two fifty."

"Two seventy-five."

Jason could only smile at the rising figure his information was getting him. He heard Drew yelled five thousand after a conference with DJ. "Going once… going twice… sold for five thousand to Drew Bedford and DJ Pratt." Everyone looked at the two with a mix of envy and anger. Most of the guys stalked off. "If you two would like to come up to pay and collect?"

Drew was the first one he saw. He was carrying a small bag. "Got your money right here, no worries." DJ hung back, a small smile flitting across his face. Jason brought out a half piece of paper that was folded in half. Drew smiled greatly and brought the bag up to seemingly to pull out the money. Instead, he pulled out a small weapon. A shot fired from the item and Jason fell to the ground with a red spot now blooming on his shirt. The paper was grabbed.

"What's the info?"

"Mac Taylor's stepson, Reed Garrett."

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

"Guard found him at eight this morning. Doing rounds when he came up to the second floor. Called the warden, who called us," Detective Angell outlined, reading from her pad. Danny was taking photos of the crime scene while Stella was going through his bunk.

"Single gunshot wound, close proximity," Danny noted.

Stella noticed a pad of paper off to the side of the bed. She found the half page on the cardboard backing. Angling it so she could read the writing, she could barely make out Reed's name and his connection to Mac, along with an address. "This isn't good," she muttered.

Danny, who had come up behind her, asked, "What isn't good?"

Stella jumped a little before answering. "Echolls had Reed's name, address and how he's related to Mac on a piece of paper."

"Considering all the guys that are in here, anyone of them would have motive to get that piece of paper and kill for it along the way. A lot of Mac's arrests are in here."

"Let's find out which one has the paper."

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

"What was going on last night, Ester?" Danny asked one of the guards standing in the break room.

"It's Est-e-a. French descent," the medium built man in front of him corrected. "I don't know what happened after eight. Most of us were gone by the time third shift comes up."

"You were one of the guys that were still here by nine. Give me the facts."

"Several of the guys were paid to turn away from a meeting that some of the inmates had going."

"Which inmates?"

"Pratt, Sassone, Briggs," he listed, "and some others. I can't name them. Talk to the others."

"I'll do that. Who are the other guards that stayed?"

Stella walked to the lobby with Danny already waiting for her. "Several guards admitted to backs being turned as several inmates betted over information that Jason Echolls was selling. They don't know who won and they don't know the information."

"Excuse me, Detectives!" someone yelled. Warden GU Benndin was running towards them.

"What's wrong, Mr. Benndin?" Stella asked.

"Role call was just taken. Two of our inmates are missing."

"Which ones?" Danny inquired.

"DJ Pratt and Drew Bedford."

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

"Tell me you got something Adam," Lindsay asked.

"Okay, here's the surveillance camera from the game store, the warehouse and glass store. Here goes your guy, walking from the game store to the glass store." He pointed the target out. "See Jack walk. See Jack pass off the game to Jane. See Jane hide the game below the counter. See Jane's boss find the game."

"See Jack and Jane meet. See Jack hide. See Jane kill boss."

"And there is your proof. Now see Jane hiding the weapon behind the broken glass." Adam was pointing out 'Jane' hiding a pipe behind a broken window of the warehouse next door.

"Thank you, Adam. I am off to collect." Lindsay walked out of the room and was about to call Flack before bumping into Mac. "Hey, Adam linked our thief to the salesgirl in the glass store. Her boss found out."

"All right, where are you going?"

"I know where she stashed the weapon. I've got Flack going with me." She waved her phone.

"Pick up 'Jack and Jane'?"

She figured he had been watching them during the videos. "I'll have Flack get them after I print the weapon. Being double sure. Where are you heading?"

"Home, for an hour's sleep."

"I hope it's more than an hour."

"My body doesn't need that much sleep."

"Your brain does."

"My brain and mind operates fine on the sleep I get. Don't worry, Lindsay." She shook her head and finished the call she was going to make.

Mac left the building and was going to his car. He heard footsteps behind him and went to turn around. A blow came to his head. He fell to his knees as several more blows hit his chest, arms and legs. He forced himself up and found a person in black standing behind him. He put his best training up and was able to fend him off for a couple of minutes before another blow to the head knocked him out.

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

Lindsay was on top of a dumpster, the same one that 'Jane' had used to put the pipe behind the window. "Got it." She held out the pipe. With the flashlight, both could see that there was blood and hair at the end out one end.

"Great. Wanna pick them up?"

"Still have to process the weapon. Then we can go after them."

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

Danny was in the cell of Drew Bedford. He was processing the item he used to knock out his cellmate. "Bedford talk to you 'bout escaping?" he asked the cellmate, who was holding a pack of ice to his head.

"No, I was usually out with Pratt was over. He and I don't have a very good past."

"What past?"

"Pratt had a habit of finding the new guys and giving them a work over in the showers. Learned to make sure to have someone watch your back the entire time after that."

"I'm guessing the work over wasn't fists." One haunted look said it all. "How many?"

"I know of at least ten guys. He doesn't like blondes and he says he prefers if they look like women, to give himself some preference. He still likes women, but if he can't have them…"

"He'll go after the ones that look like 'em?" Danny finished. The guy nodded.

Stella was working DJ Pratt's cell when she saw a piece of paper under the mattress. She lifted it carefully to find a person's name and number. "Contact on the outside?" she muttered to herself as she kept looking.

Danny interrupted her search. "Three of the guards are in the hospital ward. Two have mild concussions, the third a medium one. Looks like they used the back way and had a car waiting for them."

"So they have someone on the outside. It's probably the person on this paper." She held out the torn paper.

"All right, let's give that to Angell so she can start tracking this helper down."

"You do that, I'm going to call Mac and let him know that Drew's out," she finished, pulling out her cell and scrolling down to a familiar number. She heard it going to voicemail before hanging up and trying again.

"Mac's not answering?"

"Yeah, and that scares me."

**JA SB DF**** SH SH**** DM LM AR MT**

DJ Pratt lifted a taped Mac out of the trunk of his own car with the help of Drew Bedford. "Guy weights a ton," he commented.

"It only feels that way. Guy's unconscious and unable to help in his own kidnapping."

"I don't get why I had to go after the guy when he's your main target."

"Because I know your rep from jail. You want to go against Taylor for having some fun with his company?"

"I could of kept myself in check."

"Yeah, right." They had walked to the door of a room. Drew checked the monitor to see the other prisoner. "Not near the door. I take him, you get Taylor on the bed, got it?"

"Got it." Drew opened the door and made his way over to the bed on the left. He had a gun pointed at his head and sat down beside him. DJ threw him on the other bed. He took out a knife and cut the tape around his arms.

"Congrats, you're not alone this time," Drew mocked, patting the other person's shoulder and walking out with DJ.

The person waited for the lock to click into place before moving. There was a sink in the left corner next to the door. There was a towel for drying off hands. He wet a corner and went over to Mac. He wiped off most of the blood on the face before he started stirring. "Mac, are you with me?" he asked. He continued to wipe off more blood and used the towel as an ice substitute.

He was about to shake his shoulder when a hand grabbed his wrist. Mac opened his eyes and took in the person in front of him. "Reed?"

* * *

Yeah, this has been done before, but I thought this would be cool to put a different spin on it, or mix several different spins into one. Review please.


	2. Stella's In Charge

D: Don't own, don't really want to own because then I could be faulted with the downfall of a great TV show.

AN: I don't have my science degree yet. Still working on it. So the science mentioned comes from the shows. And what I think. If it's wrong, don't blame me, please.

* * *

Danny was the first one to notice the missing car. He went over, yelling over his shoulder, "Maybe Mac's at home and is sleeping like a rock for the first time in…" He didn't finish because he flashed his light onto a liquid on the ground. It wasn't oil, because it didn't have the rainbow coloring that came from light refracting off.

Stella walked up behind him. "Get out your kit, find all that you can," she ordered.

"Could just be a nosebleed."

"Let's not assume. Test. Maybe it's one of the escapees. Either one could have attacked Mac. Also, look for any indication on where they came from or where they're going. If they've got Mac, we need to find them before they do anything worse."

"Are we treating this as a separate crime from the escape?"

"For the time being unless anything tells us otherwise."

"Flack was right about you two. You have been working together too long."

Stella rolled her eyes at this. "Just get started."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Lindsay was processing the pipe when Stella walked in. "What are you working on?" she asked.

"Weapon for the ring in Mac's case."

"How long can you let that go for?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pulling off everyone on other cases. I'm going to need your help in processing evidence from the jailbreak at Sing Sing."

"Why? What's going on?"

"DJ Pratt and Drew Bedford escaped. I need any leads on where they are."

"Escaped? How?"

"I don't know, but I think they have help on the outside. I need you to go everything that we collected from their cells for leads."

"Anything and everything?"

"Exactly." Stella left the lab and started to call Hawkes.

"Sheldon Hawkes speaking."

"I know it's your day off, but I need you in. I need all eyes for this."

"All eyes for what?"

Stella noticed Sinclair coming at her. "I'll tell you when you get in." She ended the call after that. "Chief Sinclair, what can I do for you?"

"You could tell me what exactly is the situation with Detective Taylor. I cannot raise him on his cell phone. Is this an attempt to ignore me?"

"We believe Detective Taylor has been attacked. Two inmates, one of which has a personal agenda against Mac may have been the ones. We do not know whether he's alive or dead."

"Have you checked his home?"

"We felt no reason to." At that moment, Stella's phone started reading. She held up the universal moment sign to Sinclair and took the call. "What do you got, Danny?"

"Medium blood splatter. There was someone getting beaten in the parking lot. It cuts off where Mac's car would have been."

"Okay, confirms what we were thinking. What else?"

"We've got some of the other guy's blood. Mac got in a couple of good punches."

"All right, get back up here and run it." She ended the call and turned back to Sinclair. "Did you just hear that?"

"I heard your end."

"There was a fight in the parking lot. Danny is bringing up samples of two possible blood sources to see who they were."

"You think you can handle this high of a case? The kidnapping of a CSI and two escapees."

"Yes, I can. Why, are you going to come back in and take over?"

"No. If you want to deal with the press on this, Bonasera, so be it. You're in charge of the lab until we have Taylor back in the lab." Sinclair walked off.

"Well that was unexpected," Flack commented, coming up behind her.

"Flack, I need you to do something."

"Yeah, sure. What?"

"Go to Reed's, pick him up and bring him here. Echolls sold his information and it's possible that Pratt and Bedford are the ones that won the auction last night. That might also be where Mac is if he got away from his attacker in the parking lot."

"Got it." Flack went back to the elevators.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Sleep was not coming easily. Never mind that the mattress of the bed was lumpy, the sound of water dripping was getting on his nerves or the fact that he could hear two people talking just beyond the door. He couldn't stand the fact that he was in the hands of two criminals while his stepson had to share it with him. _I should say son. _

_Stella walked out, giving him time to think. "Seven of the thirteen alleles in common. How is this possible?" he muttered to himself. He thought back to before he met Claire, thinking when he could have met her before and not remembered her later. Nothing came to mind._

He still couldn't remember. Plaguing his mind during the times between cases was the thought that he had met Claire before and didn't even remember. Neither of them must have remembered; she never brought it up and he didn't remember himself.

He was in a semi-conscious state when muttering came from the other bed in the room. He cracked his eyes open to see Reed tossing and turning. "No, no, please let me go. Please, please. No, no, no, no, no" he pleaded in his sleep.

Mac made his way over to the bed and started shaking him up. "Reed, wake up." The pleading stopped, but the tossing didn't. "Reed." He sat up straight in bed, breathing heavily for a couple of seconds. He saw Mac beside him and calmed down a little.

"Sorry."

"What's there to be sorry about?"

"I think I woke you up."

"I wasn't asleep." He sat on the bed with Reed and calmed him further by wrapping an arm around him and rubbing his arm in an affectionate gesture. Reed leaned into the comfort and laid his head on his shoulder. "What was the nightmare about?"

"Cabbie Killer."

"You don't have to worry about him. He's not here."

"Yes, in fact, he's in the afterlife," a new voice answered. Mac looked up to see Drew Bedford walk into the room. He made the motion to move when Drew pulled out a gun and pointed it at Reed. He went back to rubbing Reed's arm. "Well, I never thought I would see this day. Mac Taylor, leader of the crime lab, has a stepson." He sat on the other bed. "You know, I thought I knew all of your weaknesses. Your team. Claire. I couldn't get to Peyton in time." He continued pointing the gun at Reed.

"None of them are a part of this," he stated.

"They're all a part of this. They are all connected to you." He took a moment to study the gun he was holding. "Well, I have to get out of here before DJ comes back. He's having fun and torching your car afterwards. Just a little reminder since I couldn't target Aiden as much. Not really much I could do that he didn't do himself." He walked out and locked the door after.

Mac turned his attention back to Reed. He saw the look of content on his face and realize he had fallen asleep during their sparring. He smiled a small bit before setting him down carefully and moving over to his bed. The small thought of being able to comfort him gave Mac a small thought that allowed him to fall asleep. _Claire and I had the child we wanted._

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

They met in Stella's office, no one wanting to use Mac's office. "All right, for the time being that Mac isn't here, I'm in charge," Stella told them.

"Who did you hire to help take over the lab?" Danny joked. Most of them glared at him and he fell silent.

Stella wasn't in the mood. "Hawkes, you're on for the killing of Jason Echolls and the escape. DJ Pratt and Drew Bedford were the ones that escaped. More or less likely, they're the ones behind Mac's disappearing act," she directed.

"Danny, you're staying on the possible lead that Mac was attacked in the parking lot. You collect two possible DNA samples."

"Adam's running them right now."

"Lindsay, you're going over to Reed's place. See if there's anything there that could help us out. He's missing also. His cell phone was still there. Angell's going to be with you for that."

"And me?" Flack asked.

"Get to the prison and see if anyone knew where they were going and where they were getting help."

Everyone was heading out when Adam met up with Danny. "One of the samples was Mac. The other was DJ Pratt," he informed him.

Stella was behind them. "Okay, so we know that DJ Pratt had a fight with Mac. Mac got the worst of the fight. His car is missing."

Flack came running up the stairs. "Not anymore. Call came in an hour ago. Car was burned over near the pier; body was found inside."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Lindsay was the first to say it. "Déjà vu," she lamented, walking up to the car. She checked for a license plate and was rewarded with a twisted, charred piece of metal. She put on gloves and started bagging anything she could from the outside.

"Get to the body inside yet?" Flack asked.

"Not yet. License plate twisted from the intense heat. I'm finding things on the outside."

"The wrapping on a present is meant to be torn off. Get to the actual present."

"Geez Flack, what's wrong?"

"Two cons broke out. Mac's missing, so's his stepson. I would like a little reassurance that they're still alive." Lindsay stared at him after the outburst, but opened the driver door. She located the pelvic bone.

"By the angle, I think it's a girl." Flack gave a small sigh of relief. "I'm guessing this is DJ Pratt's work. Drew didn't send a message like this to Mac."

"No, he went through everyone else around him. Flirting with Stella, trying to kill us, killing those people in places important to Mac."

"I got it; I got it." Lindsay looked up to see two ME assistants coming over to them. Flack stepped out of their way so they could deal with the body while Lindsay went over the car more until she needed more light. She then relented to halting her investigation until she got back to the lab.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack arrived at the exact time the place was shutting down. The warden was the one to greet him as he came in. "Detective Flack, you weren't the one investigating the murder, were you?" Benndin asked.

"No, I'm not. I'm investigating the escape. I need to talk to any inmates that had interest in these two."

"Interest?"

"They may have been getting help inside. Set up links outside, get money transferred to certain people, follow people."

The warden was stunned. "I've heard nothing. Check with the guards, and there are also video cameras for the yard, but everything will be hearsay. Rumors that the guards and prisoners know. There's not much else."

"What about their visitors' logs?" Flack asked, trying to catch up when he started walking without warning.

"That too, although Pratt didn't get any visitors. All family members are dead and he didn't really have any rabid enough fans to visit him."

"And Drew?"

"His brother came around in a great while. Parents are dead. He did have one fan that was here the day before the escape."

"What's the name?"

"I can remember it quiet clearly. Terry Loreatta MecGard. I thought it was a beautiful name. She complained about it. People would always ask how to spell it."

"Did she ever write the full name down?"

"Yes, I asked her once. It's in my office. Oh," he said, surprised that he had led them to the camera room.

"Why don't you go get that paper along with the visitors' logs?" The man nodded and walked off. Flack walked in and told his situation to the camera operator.

"What time do you need?"

"When was Bedford out?"

"Around two."

"Give me that time." Flack noticed Drew coming out the building and walk over to a group. He watched a handoff and a handshake before he went over to Pratt. They talked for a few minutes before separating. "All right, what was the first gang he was talking to?"

"Umm," the man stalled, zooming in on the character. "Eddie Williams, in for…"

"Assault and murder." The guy looked at him like he was psychic. "Arresting officer." The guy took on an 'oh, right' look and turned back to the scene.

Flack turned away from the screens to place a call. "Yeah, I need two uniforms to pick up the Williams."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Their little hiding hole didn't have the comfort of a full kitchen. Mainly, it didn't have a stove. So Drew had gone out to get some breakfast for the two of them and the two prisoners. DJ had been waiting for a time like this. The woman had worked up his appetite. He saw the younger one as a perfect tide over until his next outing. So, he slipped into the room when he was sure Taylor was asleep before going over to the other bed.

He was sleeping on his side. _And deep enough that I could ready him without waking him up. _He took both of the arms and held the wrists in one hand. He straddled Reed and used his belt to tie his hands to the bed frame. A rag was produced from the back pocket and tied over his mouth.

He stroked the hair and thought about the woman that must have been beautiful to produce this lovely of a child. His index finger slid along the side of his face. _How could she end up with someone like him?_ Stony personality, hard outside with a hard inside, to his observation. His fingers pulled the shirt up a little to glide along the chest a small bit. _Small muscles. Wouldn't last long against someone like me. Not saying much since Mac couldn't take me. It was unfair, though._ His hands moved down to the pants.

That's as far as he got when something slammed into the side of him. He hit the wall and was pulled off of his intended victim. He collapsed on the floor and saw the seething rage that only Mac Taylor could give off. "Keep the hell off him," he growled, going over and undoing the belt and gag. Reed had started to wake up and fight the restraints. He waited until both things were off before curling up into a ball.

DJ had gotten up and was pulling out a knife before a voice commanded, "Drop it, DJ." They all saw Drew in the door frame, holding the gun. "I told you, play around with the kid and Taylor would go after you. Now get out here and get your food." He threw a bag onto Reed's bed. He walked out and locked the door after both of them were out.

Mac walked over and crouched by his bed. "How much of that did you know about?" He had seen the whole scene after hearing the door open.

"I felt him climbing on me and I could feel him getting," he cut off, squeaking the last word. Mac wrapped his arms around him and he could feel two arms going around him. He rubbed his back while tremors wracked the body of his son. He forgot about the room, about the food and the two men, to just focused on Reed and calm him down.

* * *

Darker and darker. But it hasn't gone into M area. Hopefully.

Review please. You like the color green. Celebrate the season. Give a gift for the writer, please.


	3. Dirty Clues

D: I don't write for or own _CSI New York._ It would be too weird.

Christmas present for those reading.

Also, if there are any major mistakes, please tell me.

* * *

Lindsay took in the busted door first. She saw that there was a perfect shoeprint on the left side of the door handle. She took a few pictures before lifting. The living room showed that a struggle had taken place. Photos had cracked glass; furniture was overturned. She took preliminary pictures before trying to gather anything that could give clues.

Angell came back with witness statements. "Fight around six. Pounding on the wall, floor. Things being broken." Lindsay raised an eyebrow at the last one. "Glass shattering. Breaking of wood. Sounds like a major fight."

"Reed wasn't going without a fight."

"Sounds like Mac."

"Yeah, a lot like him. Stubborn, willing to work through personal things." She was lifting particles that had fallen off into the shoe impressions on the carpet.

"Huh?"

"Working the Cabbie Killer stuff would have put him directly in the way of Mac. He didn't care, though."

"Didn't he also try to weasel information out of Mac?"

"He was tormented about that. Mac told Stella that he kept having nightmares when he was over at the apartment. Finally, he broke down and told Mac he had requested to be taken off the Cabbie Killer case due to personal reasons. The editor refused to listen. He hated playing Mac." Lindsay was over by the trash, going through and trying to find anything. She spotted a cardboard roll that was too short to be a toilet paper roll.

"Guess he'll listen now."

"I'm guessing the worst part was right after the conference. He was going to come back after getting that tip and apologize to Mac. He was always worried that he wouldn't be able to say he was sorry."

"Where are you getting all of this?"

"Uh, never mind," Lindsay avoided, "Let's get this stuff back to the lab."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack was going over the call sheet when Stella called him for an update. "What do ya got?"

"A short visitors' log, for Drew only, a fake name and Eddie Williams in on all of this."

"Eddie Williams, the guy that killed Brian, Reed's friend?"

"One and the same. His parents are conveniently out of the country and their lawyers are already trying to sue us."

"Are you thinking he helped Drew?"

"I've got surveillance tape that says Drew was talking to Eddie at different times during the last three months. If Eddie began to fight Drew, Pratt would come over and Eddie would stop fighting."

"What was Pratt's reputation?"

"I'm waiting for their folders. But I don't think that the type of complaints we need are going to be in there."

"What are you thinking?"

"Gang up in the showers. He's assaulting the new ones, the young ones."

"Sexual assault. I think Danny was talking the cellmate of Drew; he was one of his victims."

"All right, back to Eddie, how is he involved?"

"My guess, asked his parents for help."

"I'll start the warrant."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

"When do we start on them?" Pratt asked. He was getting impatient with waiting around while Drew gathered all the necessary items.

"Tomorrow. Last item will be in and we'll be ready."

"This is taking too long. We could have just used the kid to crack Taylor."

"And I tell you again, you would have cracked your head before you even got the chance. The kid's only to keep Taylor calm. He won't do anything as long as he knows his stepson will pay also."

"You're weak."

"No, I prepare well. So that way, I'm not easily figured."

"Rub my face in it. You weren't caught until you had Taylor surrounded by lasers that would set off the gun if one was disturbed. He got you in the shoulder."

"He was lucky at that point. He won't have as much luck now."

"Right, so what is your plan?"

"For me to know and you to not know until needed."

"Figures."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

"So what's their history?" Reed asked, sitting next to Mac. He hadn't slept since DJ's visit.

Mac looked up in surprise. "What?"

"Why do they hate you?"

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "DJ Pratt is a rapist. He raped a woman twice; the person on her case was Aiden Burn."

"Aiden?"

"You haven't met her. She was murdered by Pratt before you came along. She was following him, waiting for him to screw up so she could get him arrested. He knew she was following and he set up a trap. Killed her in a car she was using and set fire to the car. We didn't recognize her until we did a face reconstruction and a dental comparison with a bite near her head."

"Got him for her murder."

"Yes, but you are leaving a part of that out," DJ mocked, "The part where you fired her when she was considering tampering with evidence." He moved into the room. Reed moved closer to Mac, who threw an arm around him. Drew followed DJ in and sat on the other bed.

"She knew we were going to catch you one day. All she had to do was wait until you went after another."

"Yeah, too bad she ended up dead for the effort." He was standing next to Reed and made the move to stroke his hair. Reed shrunk away while Mac moved in front of him.

"Pratt!" Drew yelled. DJ grew angry, but sat next to him. Mac moved back and held Reed again to calm his shaking. "Let's get on with the story. You were about to get to me, weren't you?"

Mac didn't comment; Reed had turned back to the action going on between them. He kept his eyes on Drew and Mac, ignoring DJ, who was giving lewd looks and even more lewd hand gestures.

"Yeah, you see, Mac and my brothers were working for this guy back in Chicago. At one point, the guy started beating my oldest brother. Mac got his hands on the gun and froze. His reaction cost my brother his life. My other brother had to take the gun and shoot the guy." Drew took a minute to calm himself. "All the papers make him seem like a hero, but I remember for what he was. A coward."

"Just because he didn't decide to shoot someone when he was younger doesn't mean he's a coward," Reed mumbled.

"I've seen the real side of him. He couldn't even shoot to kill when I threatened his life."

"The only people that kill are cowards. It shows that you can't deal with the possibility that the victim may be able to ID you as the attacker."

"Ahh, so I'm the coward for wanting to shoot Mac when he didn't save my brother." Drew held his head up in mock thought. "That's explains everything. Now, where was I?"

"You failed to mention the late night calls, stalking Stella, putting most of the team in danger," Mac added angrily.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, I've got to get going. Getting the last piece before my plan can be carried out. DJ," he ended, waiting for the other man to walk out before he closed the door behind him and locked it.

Mac turned back and saw Reed fighting a yawn. "Go to sleep."

"Why? I'm just going to wake up in an hour from a nightmare."

"I will stay here and help you get back to sleep each time, all right?" Reed nodded. Instead of going back to the other bed or lying down on Mac's, he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself while lying against Mac. His head was on his shoulder and he pulled himself closer to Mac. "Reed, what are you doing?"

He moaned. "Going to sleep."

"On me?"

"I feel safer. And your heartbeat calms me down in some weird way." He yawned and set his head more comfortably. A couple of minutes later, deep breathing assured Mac that Reed was asleep. Instead of moving him down on the pillow, he took the pillow and placed it behind his head and succumbed to sleep as well.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack stood outside of the Williams house for three minutes, pounding on the door waiting for the lawyer to either show up or open the door. Instead, a car pulled up. Flack turned around to see a man and a woman exit the car.

"NYPD, you wouldn't happen to be the Williams?" he asked.

"Talk to our lawyer," the man said, going past him and walking up to the door.

"Now, you see, I've been waiting for your lawyer for the last five minutes. He hasn't shown up." Flack brought out a folded stack of papers. "And these papers say I can go through your accounts, papers and computers to find out how you've been helping Drew Bedford and DJ Pratt in the last few days."

"We're waiting for our lawyer."

"I'm not waiting. I've got a cop and his stepson kidnapped by the sons of bitches you helped out. So either show me to the stuff now or you're getting arrested for aiding and abetting two fugitives from the law. Maybe we'll tie you into their kidnapping and possible murder also, if we don't find them in time," Flack yelled, getting in the guy's face.

"We won't have to wait long. He's coming in a couple of minutes," his wife said, moving in between the two of them. "You are welcomed in for a cup of coffee."

"I'd rather wait out here. Can't be distracted." Flack leaned on the fence while both the parents went in.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

"Hawkes, what do ya got for me?" Stella asked as she entered the Ballistics room.

Hawkes held up a curved section of a pipe. "This is our murder weapon. Watch," he explained, pointing it inside the chamber. One shot could be heard before he went and retrieved the bullet. "Modified nine millimeter hidden inside this pipe. One shot only. Someone would have had to help them get the parts inside."

"Flack's talking to the parents of Eddie Williams. They may be behind the help on the outside."

"That would explain it. Gun's original serial number was still on the pieces of the gun. Came back registered to an Ana States. She sold it a few weeks ago to pay the rent. Hasn't been reregistered."

"Okay, so the William's bought this gun, sent it to their son, who gave it to…"

"Drew, his prints were on the weapon."

"All right, anything else that could help us find Mac and Reed?"

"Drew had a notebook in which he kept several address. Half were apartments, but they were crossed out. The other half are business places. Several were crossed out but there were a few still on the paper." He handed Stella a paper with his handwritten results.

"Do you have anyone checking on them?"

"I'm waiting for Flack on the one I suspect." He pointed out a particular one. "That's one that's just inside the city limits. It was the one place that Drew Bedford had circled."

"Why are you waiting for Flack?"

"He's over at the Williams, going through the papers and their computers to find something that backs this up."

"All right, Lindsay will be going over stuff from Reed's. Hopefully, Drew brought trace in with him to also connect him to that place. Thanks Hawkes."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

"Lindsay, any trace?"

"I got something from the footprints that Drew left. It's a combination of fertilizer, decayed plant matter and Miracle Gro."

"Sounds like a plant shop. Fits with what Hawkes discovered among Drew's affects."

"When are you guys going to raid?"

"One more piece, and then we're set." Stella dialed in Flack's number.

"Flack."

"Tell me you got something on the Williams' computer."

"I've got a recently purchased building. Mainly businesses that are out of business."

"Anyone one of them a floral shop?"

"Yeah, Flander's Floral. Ground floor."

"All right. We're hitting that place."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Drew was rigging a chair while DJ looked on. "This is taking too long," DJ complained.

"It takes a while to work with wiring without electrocuting yourself."

"Describe to me how this works again."

"Reed will sit in the chair. Mac moves; Reed gets a shock. Move across the wrong laser and he kills Reed while also setting off a gun that kills him."

"You did this before," DJ again complained, picking up the gun that was on the table next to him.

"Last time, I should have taken in the team into account. They won't be able to get to them in time."

"There's another thing you didn't take into account."

Drew didn't look up. "What?"

"Me." DJ pointed the gun and squeezed once. Half of Drew's head was blown away by the impact. The body slumped forward and the wiring made contact with his skin, thousands of volts going through his body.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Reed jumped up when the gunshot rang out. Mac also woke and was moving Reed behind him. "Do you think they're here?"

"I don't know. Stay behind me," Mac ordered, getting them both up and keeping him behind him. Mac was prepared for the worst, one of the two coming through and planning on killing them. DJ busted through the door. Reed made himself as small as possible.

"Move Taylor! Otherwise you won't be able to see your stepson alive again."

"You're not taking him."

"Fine." Without warning, he fired twice at Mac. Reed pushed him down after the first shot. Both hit the back wall. Mac rushed DJ. They fought for a couple of minutes, Mac throwing in a couple of punches while DJ kept trying to fire. DJ got the better hand and shot two more times at Mac.

Red spots showed up as Mac fell down. "Mac!" Reed yelled, rushing to his side. He grabbed the blanket on the bed and pressed it against Mac's chest.

DJ heard the sirens coming closer. "Get up!" he shouted, grabbing Reed's collar and bringing him up. He pointed the gun at his head to force him along.

"No!" He struggled against the arm around his neck. "Mac! Mac, please! Mac!"

* * *

Cliffhanger! I'm evil. I know.

Tis the season to give the writer a review. Please. Pretty please. :)


	4. DJ's new help

D: I don't own _CSI: New York._

AN: Mature themes, but I don't think it hits mature just yet. If it is, I'm really sorry.

Okay, I didn't know I was going to get a lot of reviews for last chapter. Wow. That was a lot of reviews for me.

For all those that don't want to be left hanging over the holidays (Because I won't be on the internet until the day after Christmas), here's another chapter.

* * *

DJ forced Reed in front of him, pushing him along with the barrel of a gun. "Listen to me," he ordered, "I'm going to find us a ride. Don't talk to the person and don't try to get the attention of any cop you see. In short, don't try anything." He pushed Reed up against the wall right next to the door, pointing the gun at his head. His other hand twisted the shirt until the collar was tightening around his neck. Reed had to grab the arm and keep himself up so he didn't choke. "Understand?" He dug the gun deeper.

Reed nodded, tears welling in his eyes from the sight of Mac and the thoughts going around of what he could and probably would do to him. DJ pushed the gun further to invoke a verbal response. "Yeah, I got it," he answered, throwing in a little sarcasm that got him slapped upside the head. _He's got me, but I'm not going to be nice to him._

"Good," he falsely consoled, using his thumb to wipe his eyes in a surprising move. "Now, I'm going to find someone. My gun is in my belt; I will get it out in three seconds and shoot you in the head if I have to. Stay only a few steps ahead." He tucked the gun in and let go of Reed. He opened the door and pushed him ahead.

The sirens were loud, but there weren't any flashing lights on the street. DJ was searching the street for someone he could con into taking them into their home or apartment. He needed a place that he could hide for a couple of days before he could run. He saw a man trying to get a table into a truck and decided to help him. "Hey, you look like you could use a hand," DJ good-heartedly shouted. He grabbed the other side of the table and helped maneuver it into the bed.

"Thanks. Didn't think there were any good people left in the city. Name's Steve, Steve Hill," the man introduced.

"Derek Jackson, my stepbrother Ryan," DJ faked, pointing to Reed. "We need some help; our stepfather has gone on a rampage. Our mother could thankfully get out, but he still has custody of Ryan, so we need someplace to hide out. Do you know any place?"

"I do know of a neighbor that might help you boys out. Lives on the same floor just a few doors down. Got an extra bedroom for strays. Her name's Stacy Teague," he told them.

"That's great. Do you think she'll take us?"

"I'll give her a call. Unless she's got someone else there, she'll take you."

Steve showed them to the cab of the truck. DJ grabbed Reed's upper arm and squeezed until Reed was sure the blood stopped going through. "Remember," DJ warned, letting go and getting in first. Reed got in after him and rubbed the circulation back into his arm. _I can't give up. I can't give up. Mac's still alive. Stella and the team are going to save him and come after me. _He started to calm down after this and took deeper breaths.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack and Angell were the first ones in. Flack directed half of the SWAT team to the back with Angell while he took the front with the other half and Stella, who had insisted on coming. "Let's move in," Flack yelled, kicking in the door, "NYPD. Drew Bedford, DJ Pratt, come out with your hands up!"

Stella went into one of the side rooms and found Mac on the floor. "Mac!" she yelled. "Someone get the medics in here." She lifted the blanket and saw where the most damage was. She could also tell he was taking in shallow breaths. "Okay, Mac. Stay with me," she said, slapping his face a couple of times. She applied pressure on the wounds.

Mac groaned. His eyes opened a slit. "Stella?"

"Yeah Mac, it's okay. We're going to get you to the hospital."

"No," he grunted. "DJ has Reed."

"Shit. All right, did you hear anything after he took Reed?"

"Got too far away. He went out one of the other doors. Ah," he moaned at the pressure.

Flack came into the room. "EMTs are almost here. Drew's dead, back of the head's blown," Flack updated.

"DJ," Stella stated.

"Damn it! We were close," Flack swore.

"No closer than I was stopping him," Mac lamented.

"Mac, don't you dare. You were protecting Reed as best you could," Stella scolded. She moved out of the way for the medics to take over.

"What do we do now?" Flack asked.

"Hawkes and Danny are coming down to process and find anything. You get back to DJ. Find out anything from his past we can possibly find him with now. I'm going with Mac." Stella ran after the medics and jumped in as they loaded Mac in.

Flack pulled out his cell phone and called Adam in the lab. "What do you need?" he asked.

"I need any contact DJ Pratt had before ending up in jail."

"What type of contact?"

"Family, friends, girlfriends. Anybody, Adam."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

"All right boys, Stacy's place," Steve flourished, knocking twice to get the lady to come to the door.

"Steve, what do ya got for me?" she asked, looking at the two others behind him.

"Abusive father. This one's underage." Steve clapped on Reed's shoulder. "Older guy's his step-brother. Mind helping them out?"

"Of course not." She turned to Reed. "You look like you need your face cleaned. Bathroom's over there."

"Thank you," Reed said, surprised. _A few minutes without DJ. _He almost sighed until another thought came to his mind. _Why does she want to get rid of me? _He went to the bathroom and shut the door. He checked for a lock and didn't find one. "Damn."

Stacy turned back to Steve. "I better start dinner if I'm going to be feeding two hungry kids tonight. See you tomorrow, Steve." She waved him by and brought DJ in. Once the door was closed and locked, she set a full minute kiss on DJ. He responded by running his hand up her back and going over to the couch. "Damn DJ, didn't know Marie got remarried after death."

"Cover story. Escaped from prison." He kissed her neck. "Kidnapped Taylor, and his stepson with a guy named Drew." He trailed kisses along her stomach. "I just killed Drew and took the stepson, leaving Taylor to die."

"Quit it, you're making me want you now." She made his mouth return back up and devoured him back into a passionate kiss. "What do we do with Taylor's stepson?"

"Keep him here. Maybe I lay him off while you tell some story about DJ Pratt lying his way in and then taking you by force." His hands inched and itched around the belt of her jeans.

"Force? Oo, I like that." She giggled at the thought.

"That reminds me. Do you have the toys I left behind?"

"Which ones?"

"I need the handcuffs and the ankle restraints. For the kid."

"Want the gag too?"

"No, I need that for us. I'll just use duct tape." DJ regrettably got off Stacy and made his way over to the bathroom.

Reed had heard the whole exchange through the door. "Why do I never get help from others?" He went over to the window and opened it to look outside. He was about five stories up and there was barely a ledge to walk on. He considered yelling down to someone or dropping something until an arm snaked around his neck. DJ covered his mouth and pulled him back in.

"Now, you see, that wasn't a very good idea Reed. Someone could get hurt, mainly you," he told him, throwing him on the ground and closing the window. "Get up."

Stacy already had the second bed ready when he dragged Reed in. Black, studded ankle restraints were attached to the front of the bed. Handcuffs were at the other end. Stacy held the duct tape. DJ dropped Reed down and held the handcuffs. "Take off your shoes." Reed hesitated for a minute before undoing the laces and slipping them off. "Lay down, feet toward the head." He questioned it for a minute, but sat instead of laid down. DJ put the cuffs on his hands and did his ankles. "Stace, would you like the honor?" She nodded and stretched out a piece to put over his mouth. She wound the tape around a couple of times and was going for a fifth before DJ interrupted. "I think that's enough." He wrapped an arm around her waist and left, kissing her deeply before shutting the door.

Reed hated it. Mac was probably dead; DJ still had him and now there was someone else to help him. He couldn't call out for help; the bedroom boarded none of the other apartments except the floor and he couldn't reach that. He didn't want to feel completely hopeless. _Think, what would Mac do? _ He felt a yawn coming on and knew what Mac would say. He pulled the comforter from under his body and pushed it back. He grabbed a pillow and covered himself entirely with the comforter. He made a small hole to let in air so he could breathe. He was surprised when he fell asleep quickly. _I'll be up again in an hour anyway. _

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Stella was waiting for a doctor or a nurse to come out and tell her how bad Mac was. She was biting her thumb nail and pacing back and forth. She waited for another fifteen minutes before a doctor came out. "The bullets had embedded in his ribs. Very lucky shot for him. He'll be under for a couple of more hours; we had to use general anesthesia," the doctor gave her.

"The bullets?"

"Being packaged for the lab. We didn't mark them up too badly."

"Thank you, doctor." Stella went outside and dialed Lindsay's number.

"Monroe."

"Lindsay, I'm sending over a bullet with Danny as soon as he gets here for Mac's clothes. See if you can trace it back to an original owner or to the Williams."

"Got it. Danny's stopping at Mac's first for clothes."

"He doesn't have a key."

"He's got the landlord to let him in. He'll be there in fifteen."

"All right, thanks Linds." Stella hung up and walked back in, going straight to Mac's room, which had two police on duty at his door.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack was going to David Pratt's apartment. David was the younger brother and only living relative of DJ's that Adam could find. Adam was now going through security footage of all the cameras around the building. Flack knocked a couple of times. "David Pratt?" he shouted through the door.

A wiry man answered the door. "Who is it?"

"Detective Flack, NYPD. I need to know if your brother has tried to contact you."

"I haven't talked to him in ten years since our parents died."

"Died?"

"Killed in a car crash. They were planning on writing DJ out of the will; that day, they were on their way to change it. Always thought he was too happy after that."

"Honey, are you okay?" a voice asked in the living room. A red headed woman came walking into view, holding a redheaded girl.

"Fine, this detective was asking about DJ."

"The slimeball. He kept going after all my friends. Really latched onto Stace."

"Stace?" Flack asked.

"Stacy Teague. I haven't kept in contact with her since he went to jail for killing that girl." Flack's throat tightened at the thought of Aiden.

"Do you have an address for Stacy?"

"It's out of date. Tried to send a Christmas card and it got sent back."

"All right, thank you." Flack left and started calling Adam.

"Hey, Flack, I'm not through the footage yet."

"Never mind that. Find a current address for a Stacy Teague."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

DJ was bored. Before going to jail, playing games with Stace being his helpless victim was fun. Now, it was boring. He didn't feel the whole adrenaline that he got before. _Probably because there's an actual victim in the other room. Either that or I'm in the middle of a bi situation. _DJ shivered at the thought. He was bringing her to a climax and he couldn't even get himself to his climax.

_Maybe it's the victim situation. _He started thinking about the faces, terror running in their eyes as he took their life. He focused on the women, as they were the most expressive. _That ain't working. _He still wasn't coming and couldn't think of a single face that would push him over.

Images started forming. Reed scared. Reed lying in the bed. His mind started going over what he was planning to do if Mac hadn't interfered. He could feel himself coming and when she hit her climax, so did he. _I guess it is a bi situation._ He cursed himself and vowed for one thing while she was out the next day. _I guess I'll have to go and try again on that kid._

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Flack's phone rang. He checked to see that it was Adam. "What do ya got?"

"576 Washington. Apartment 5G. It's a two bedroom," Adam reported.

"Thank you Adam. Let's start building the case." Flack ended the call and flipped on the siren to get to the area over. He was already calling Angell and a couple of other guys to back him up. He also got a bus to follow them there. "Please God; let me be there on time."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

She always kept it in the same place. DJ went to the medicine cabinet and found the lubricant that she kept on hand for the guys she allowed to go bare. She also had a box of women's condoms next to it. He took it and gave himself a minute to breathe before going into the bedroom.

He pulled off the comforter to reveal Reed lying on his side. "Honey, I'm home," he quipped, straddling him just like in the room. He took off the shirt and brought it over his head and placed it over his hands. He went to caressing the muscles while kissing down the spine. _There it is. _The adrenaline rush was coming back to him. He went back up to the neck and traced the barely noticeable scars on the back while his hands went down and undid the button and the zipper. He had to bring him up a little to slide down the pants but not his boxers.

Reed waited until he was above his left elbow before jamming it into his ribs. DJ yelled and fell on top of him. "Fine, if that's the way you want to play it." He grabbed the tape off the nightstand and wrapped it a few times around the chain in between the cuffs. He then trailed the tape down to the first bar he saw and wrapped it a couple of times also. He went and doubled up on the tape before going back.

_I'm almost ready. _He unzipped his pants, pushed them down to his knees and rubbed the lube on a couple of times to warm it up. He trailed kisses along the shoulders while pulling down the boxers. He lifted him again. One hand was positioned on him, ready to make him experience whether he wanted to or not. He moved to push himself in.

His moment of jubilation was stopped as someone pulled him off and he was forced up against the wall. He screamed as he was crushed and handcuffs were placed on him. "What the hell?" he yelled.

"What the hell is right," a voiced answered. DJ was spun around to see Detective Flack behind him. He was forced out of the bedroom and into the living room. "Officer Daniels, would you help Mr. Pratt with his pants while I read him his rights?"

Two medics were working with Danny to move Reed off the bed. He had his gloves on and was working on the ankle restraints. The medics were about to cut the shirt off of Reed to get to the cuffs. "Guys, I got that," Danny said, finishing with them and moving to the shirt. He pulled carefully and moved it up and over Reed's head. "Give me a minute," he stalled, looking at Reed, "Can you guys get the tape off?" One of the medics nodded and searched his kit.

Danny went out into the living room and went to Hawkes. He had bagged the items that Stacy had on her. "Did you get a set of keys off of her?"

"Yeah." Hawkes handed the bag over. Danny searched for a handcuff key. He didn't find one on the chain.

He went over to Stacy. "Where's the key?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The handcuffs! Where's the key?"

She smugly looked up at him. "I'm not telling you." She stretched her head up to force her face up. In the process, the key fell from a yarn necklace around her neck. Danny grabbed it and lifted it to her eyes. She made a face at him while he pulled the key off.

They were just taking off the last bit of tape from Reed's mouth. He undid the cuffs and bagged them. Reed pulled up his pants and curled a little bit on the bed. "Okay Reed, hey Reed." Danny tried to get his attention. Reed looked up at him without a normal comeback he would have for Danny. _What the hell did Pratt do to him? _"You're going to go with these two medics. You're going to hospital to get checked out."

"I just wanna see Mac," Reed whispered.

_Damn, he sounds like a child. _"You're going to see Mac at the hospital, but you have to get checked out first." Reed nodded and Danny almost blew a sigh of relief. He helped Reed up and walked him through the apartment. DJ was turned from him, but Reed still clenched Danny's arm. He didn't let up on the death grip until they were out of the apartment.

Danny was going to let Reed go and get back to the apartment to process. Reed held him back. "Hey, I gotta get back and collect evidence, Reed. You'll be fine; you can trust them." He shook his head and held on tighter. "You want someone familiar? Someone you know?" He nodded. Danny sighed and moved back to the apartment. "Hey, Hawkes, are you going to be overwhelmed by the apartment?"

"No Danny, I won't be, because Adam is going to come and cover you. Stella already figured Reed would want someone with him."

"Did she figure which one?"

"Uh, whatever one got to Reed first."

"Figures." Danny joined Reed back at the elevator. "All right, Reed. Let's go see Mac."

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Stella was waiting in the waiting room for Danny. Hawkes had called her and told her it would be about twenty minutes. She had left Mac sleeping in his room. He had insisted on wearing his clothes and walking around instead of being confined to the bed. She had insisted if he walked, he walked with someone by him to help him. The guards were going back to the station in a couple of minutes; DJ being arrested got them off of guard duty.

She heard the doors open and saw Danny walking by Reed. The two medics didn't come in. Stella walked over. "Hey, there's an exam room open. We'll get the hair and fingernails first. I leave so Danny can get your clothes. All right?" she offered. Reed nodded his head and followed her in. He sat on the bed while she scraped his fingernails and combed his hair while collecting things that fell out. She left and Danny had some bags ready for his clothes. He immediately replaced his clothes with the hospital ones on the chair. Danny was talking to him, trying to get a laugh out of him when a nurse came into the room and shooed him out. She began taking his temperature and doing everything for a normal checkup.

Reed was getting impatient. He wanted to see Mac and have one last good-bye before they started an autopsy on him. He didn't expect the door to open so quickly. He didn't look at the person that was coming in. He figured that the nurse had forgotten something. He didn't figure on a hand falling on his shoulder and he didn't expect the face that he saw when he looked up. "Mac?" he questioned, standing up. He broke down and clung to him. "I-I tho-thought…" he cried into Mac's shoulder, "That DJ ha-had killed you."

Mac couldn't say anything. _He thought I was dead. What has he gone through? _Flack snuck in and found a seat right next to the curtain, using it to cover himself. He held up his notebook to signal that he had to question Reed. Mac stopped him and signaled that he should do the questioning. Flack nodded back and sat down. Mac maneuvered over to the bed and sat down. Reed took the signal to sit down also, keeping a hold on Mac. He was still silently sniffling and curling himself into a ball. "What happened, Reed, after I was shot?" he whispered.

"DJ forced me out into the street. He was looking for someone that would take us somewhere to hide out."

"How did he find someone?"

This guy, Steve, needed help getting his table in his truck. DJ lied and told him a story about us being stepbrothers and the stepfather was abusive. He said that there was a woman named Stacy in his building that took people in."

"So Steve took you to Stacy's?"

"Stacy knew DJ. She helped him out. Had the handcuffs and the…" he cut off at the thought of the bondage restraints. He clung tighter and started shaking.

"Okay, Reed. It's okay; he's not there." Mac cursed himself for having to go on. _Now I know how parents feel when I have to question their kids. _"What did she have, Reed?"

"Th-these bondage ankle things. He knew about them, called them toys."

"All right, did DJ try to do anything at the apartment?"

"A couple of times, he came in and taunted me. Sometimes he hit me a couple of times." He curled himself tighter for the next part. "She was out today and he came into the room. He tried to…"

"This was the only time; he didn't try at any other time during the apartment?" He shook his head. "Reed, this is going to be hard, but you need to describe what he did to you."

"For Flack's infamous notebook, right?" Mac looked down at him and Flack snorted behind the curtain. "I could see him better than you. I just pretended I didn't see him."

"Yeah, for Flack's infamous notebook." Reed smiled for a bare second. He started when DJ entered the bedroom and went until Flack pulled him off. His shaking increased through the story, with Mac going from rubbing his back to mumbling a string of reassurances to keep him from crumbling.

Flack came forth after all of this. "Why is my notebook infamous?" he joked. Mac laughed and moaned at the movement of his ribs. Reed snorted. "Stella's got the doctor waiting for Mac. Another observation, then he'll release you." Flack went out to send them in.

Reed moved to the chair next to the bed. The doctor gave Mac a full check, re-taping his ribs and looking at the wounds. "You're good to go. Watch the ribs. You're probably still dehydrated and malnourished, so a good meal is in order. For both of you," he ordered, peering around Mac to look at Reed as well.

**JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT**

Reed was helping Mac through the door to his apartment as they got home. "Do you think by good meals, he means pizza and soda?" Reed asked, looking over at Mac.

"I don't think so, but it's going to be a good meal for us. I think I got the number for a place that does deep dish." Reed agreed and took a pop that Mac offered. He ordered the pizza with a mixture of meat and vegetables.

Mac led Reed over to the couch and they both slumped down. Mac decided now would be the time to tell him. He brought Reed in and kept his arm around him. "What is it, Mac?" Reed asked.

"I've got something to tell you."

"What?"

"Something important about your mother, you and me."

* * *

Okay, so the next chapter will be the flashback of Claire and Mac with some clips of the present.

Review please. : ) : ) : ) I like reviews. They are cool.


	5. Trips down Mac's Memory

D: I don't own CSI New York.

There is Mac/Claire in this chapter, but it's a flashback, so it's kind of excusable.

(There is not a lot on Mac. Seriously, I don't even know his age.)

* * *

May 1987

Vic's bar was getting overtime for this week. It was the end of finals at the colleges in the city and many over the age, with some underage, coming in and having toasts to everything before going home for summer break. Several of the high school students were also in, passing off fake ID's for a taste of adulthood.

Mac hadn't been a student for a while, but Vic's was one of the only places he could get a good American draft. He was in Chicago for a friend's funeral and was on shore leave from the Marines for four days. Still haunted by the bombings back in 1983, he was pass the .1 drinking limit and didn't look like he was going to stop.

He was through half of his sixth beer when he felt someone slide up next to him. He turned to a beautiful woman who had middle of the back long brown, wavy hair that looked like no chemical or perm had touched it. Her eyes were the blue sapphires could only dream of. Her face had started to blur with all the alcohol in his system, but he could still tell she was under age. _Way under age._ "So, what brings a military man like you to Chicago?" she inquired, holding the same brand Mac had in her hand.

"How can you tell I'm military?"

"Part of your tattoo's showing, but not enough. What branch?"

"Marine." He leaned toward her head for the next question. "What year of high school?"

"Senior, but I still have a semester to go. I look that young?"

"Like a junior. Don't worry, I'm not telling anyone. I came in here when I was still in high school."

"When were you in high school?"

"Back in 1980."

"So, you're what, 25? 26?"

"25." He finished off his beer and was going to ask for another one when he found himself being pulled to the dance floor by the woman.

The music was the latest mix by a popular DJ that Mac didn't bother listening to. She knew it, and was jumping while moving her hips to the music. She rubbed up against him a couple of times, in specific places. Mac was already a little warm from the alcohol, but the movements were making him warmer in those specific places. His response was to wrap his arms around her waist, pull her up and planted a kiss. She wrapped both arms around his neck to pull herself up and deepen the kiss. Both moaned at the deepness and the meeting of their tongues.

A few whistled at the kiss and another yelled, "You got a good one, girl."

She started laughing as they pulled apart. "Sorry, my friends joke that the first guy I meet I'm going to marry. Apparently, they like and approve of the guy I'm with." She leaned to tell him something. "They don't know I've already had a couple of guys."

"Sounds like they were wrong." Two more songs, both heavy on the beats, and Mac needed another drink. He went over to the bar and asked for another bottle. She joined him over by the bar and grabbed another as well.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Not until noon."

"Where are you staying?"

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The knocker on Mac's door was being used. Reed moved away from Mac so he could get up to answer the door. "Perfect timing," Reed cracked, "Right when she was about to get you to your room."

Mac walked over to the door and answered to see a delivery boy with their pizza. He paid with a twelve percent tip and brought the pizza back to the living room with two plates. They both brought out a piece before settling back.

"You said she was about to get me back to my room?" Mac referred, taking a second slice. He looked over at Reed, who had stuffed his face with a second slice and could only grunt an answer. "Right."

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She thought she knew the number. She was pulling him along the corridor and stopped when he pulled her back in front of a door. "I thought it was three forty-two."

"No, it's three thirty-two. You're off." He opened the door using an actual key. There was barely enough time to close the door before she was over him. He reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her, picking her up and walking her over to the bed.

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"I don't think we need to go into that," Mac professed, grabbing the last slice he wanted.

"Oh, come on. You were getting to the good stuff. You got her over to the bed and?" Reed prodded, taking a bite. Mac gave him a glare that caused him to shrink in his seat. Mac smirked and took a bite out of his slice.

"Let's skip to after that part," Mac directed.

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All the physical therapy didn't help when he exerted himself. First all the alcohol and the dancing had kept him out of breath. Now, he was slowly regaining his normal heartbeat after two rounds of sex with her. "That was great. I never knew part of the training for Marines were all those positions," she joked, looking at Mac.

"That wasn't the Marines. That was several friends that were talking about the Karma Sutra while playing poker. I was curious and decided to read up on it."

"Curiosity never did that for the cat."

"How true." She looked over at the clock beside the bed. A wave of panic spread over her and she started putting on her clothes in a rush. "What did I do?"

"It's nothing you did. I have an interview at eight and I really need to get home, get some sleep and do my makeup, my hair and get my clothes."

He was still half drunk from the beer he drank several hours before. The lights were also off as she crept up next to him and kissed him deeply for a minute before running off the door. Mac lay back on the bed and wrapped himself in the sheet before drifting off to sleep.

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"Okay, that was a great story about you picking up a girl, but what does it have to do with you, me and Mom?" Reed argued.

"I met the woman a few years later…"

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April 1992

New York City was in full bloom when Mac walked into the middle of the courtyard at the college where he was finishing his degree. He saw a beautiful woman sitting upright against a tree trunk. He went over. "You're in my Calculus Two class, aren't you?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"The class with Mr. Yakho who nobody understands," she claimed.

"It takes a while to get use to the accent, but I understand him. At least in the language of speaking."

"What do you need help with? I'm Claire, by the way. Claire Conrad." She held out her hand.

"Mac Taylor."

"So which problem?"

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"Okay, your first meeting with Mom," Reed itemized.

"Just wait, it gets better."

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January 1995

Claire Conrad Taylor was crying silently in the bed she now shared with her husband. They got married at the very end of December and had just been on the honeymoon. She remembered at this exact time, back in 1988, she had been giving birth to a beautiful baby boy that she couldn't bear to see brought down by the fact she was an unwed, single mother. She felt he would be better off with the family that had adopted him.

"Claire, what's wrong?" Mac asked, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her.

"Today's the day that I had him," she choked.

Mac took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "It's not your fault. You thought he would be better off. You had no idea that we would find each other."

"I know. I know. It's just…" She wiped her eyes. "I did some calculations just after. I had him in January. That would have fit with my ex-boyfriend that I had been dating in April. We went without one time during that month. But I had my period after. And I forgot about that. So it couldn't have been him. Then I met this guy at a bar and had a one-nighter with him. I wasn't on the pill, but he used protection. I think he's the father and I don't remember his name. I just wanted some fun and this is how it…"

"It's okay. It's okay, Claire. You didn't know how it would turn out." He rocked her back and forth as she started crying again.

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"Okay, so you met a girl in a bar in May of 1987. Mom met a guy in the same month. She had me January of 1988." The pieces were slowly clicking into place. Reed looked over at Mac. "Mac, did you and Mom meet in May? Way before college?"

"It clicked when I was unconscious after they took out the bullet. The woman I met that night was your mother. She knew it wasn't her ex-boyfriend, but the guy at the bar." Mac took the piece of paper out of his pocket. He gave it to Reed.

"Common alleles. Mac, I don't…"

"Seven out of thirteen alleles, Reed. Don't you watch the TV shows?"

Reed thought about it for a minute. "We're related?"

"Not just related. Reed, I'm your father." Mac was engulfed in a hug he wasn't prepared for.

"This is weird. This is weird. But it's good because now I don't have to worry about my biological father being a criminal because I know it's you and," he babbled. He had a couple of tears falling down.

"Reed, Reed calm down," Mac broke in, rubbing his back.

"So, did you figure it out and then test or?"

"Reed, when could I have tested during the time I was at the hospital and here?"

"Right, so how long have you known?" Reed let him go to look up at his face.

"A few months, since Adam ran your DNA accidently against mine."

"Accidently?"

"He ran it twice after to recheck."

"Why didn't you tell me after you found out?" Reed argued.

"Reed," Mac averted his anger, taking his head in his hands, "I didn't remember when I had met your mother to possibly have been the father. I didn't want to tell you something that I couldn't remember myself. For all I know, I could be a twin and it would be awkward for him to be the actual father."

"Sorry, Mac. I just…" He pulled his head away and wiped his eyes. "This is huge, okay? I didn't like that you kept this from me. It didn't matter that you couldn't remember. What happens if I had found out from someone else?"

"The only other people that know are Stella and Adam. And I intend to keep it that way." He wrapped an arm around Reed, bringing him in and tucking his head under his chin. "Okay? We are the only four that know."

"Okay." Reed stayed a minute before yawning. "I think I'm going to bed." He brought himself out from Mac. "Is the bedroom still free?"

"Yeah, the bedroom's still free. I haven't changed the sheets."

"Cool, I'm just going to…" He moved to clean up the plates.

"I'll take care of this, Reed. Go to sleep."

"Mac…"

"Reed, you need sleep. All right?" Mac took Reed's head with a soft hand and turned it toward him.

"All right." Reed walked off to the bedroom and fell on it without taking off anything. He was out within a minute.

* * *

Sorry, there's still one more chapter. There will be SMacked. Even if it is light SMacked.

Review please. Reviews are nice.


	6. Kiss and sleep

D: I don't own _CSI NY. _

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He lulled around semi-consciousness for a half-hour before someone knocked at the door. He struggled to get off the couch and walked over to the door. He answered to see Stella standing there. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"You came all the way over here to ask that question?" Mac stepped aside to let her in.

"That and I wanted to know how Reed took the news."

Mac laughed and pointed out the leftover pizza. Stella took a slice while he went through the ups, downs and sexual innuendo that Reed was throwing at him. "He wanted to know about the sex we had."

Stella started laughing. He glared at her. "I'm sorry. But I mean, come on, it's natural for kids to want to know about their parents' first time."

"That's intimate knowledge that only I and Claire will ever have."

"Unless Claire wrote it down."

"Claire wasn't much for the diary approach."

"Reed will never learn his origin."

"Not the technical aspect. He's learned how we met for the first time."

"Was that at college or…"

"Both. We met in Chicago."

"When?"

"1987. I was there for a friend's funeral."

"She was at the funeral?"

"She and I were at a bar. She was still in high school."

"Mac Taylor taking advantage of a younger woman. Now that's something that wouldn't happen today."

"I was younger back then. It wouldn't be like today."

"Oh no, it definitely wouldn't be like that. They wouldn't entice you as much."

"Entice me? I wouldn't be in the same place as them."

"What? You don't think some of the younger crowd would be in the same places as you?"

"Cal's isn't exactly a college bar."

"That's true. There are some brave souls that walk in there, though."

"Yeah, they leave after someone starts talking to them."

"Yeah, we are intimidating."

Mac laughed. "Like that time when two seniors came in and Flack got them to walk out without even flashing."

"Or the time where Danny had to get into the faces of these two juniors making fun of Adam."

"Or the time that…" He stopped thinking for a second.

"Mac? What's stopping you from completing the thought?"

"Flack and Danny were about to fight this kid from the college. Lindsay stopped them by pissing off the kid. He was talking about his five paper dolls at college back in 2007."

"The paper mache case that Lindsay and I had. Reed told you?"

"Flack and Danny were coming up with the materials and he told me that it had already happened to him. Gave me the story."

"That's why Flack and Danny went with sticking his TiVo on the Food Network."

"Exactly. He can't stand the Food Network; it's makes him hungry."

"I think Flack has already decided that he was going to be hungry anyway. Figured he could use some pointers on how to cook." Mac started laughing again as Stella made her way over to the trash can and to where he was sitting. Mac was in an impulsive mood. He stood up, grabbed her around the waist and kissed her on the lips. He broke off after ten seconds. "Have you been drinking tonight?"

"Just a beer."

"Just a beer?" She captured his lips, tongue escaping into his mouth. He met with hers and just played for a minute. "You know, this is going to be very bad. If anyone found out…"

"Did you tell anyone you were coming over?"

"No."

"Then don't worry." He came back for a third time. Both were hungry and only let go for air. "Do you want to go to the couch?"

"Sure." Neither led the way. Mac sat first and pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his chest and laid content, her head on his shoulder. He had both arms around her, eyes staring at the top of her head. "This feels nice."

"I hope it lasts."

"Do you mean just for tonight?"

Mac looked straight into her eyes. "I don't know just yet. Maybe the answer will come to me in the morning. If you don't run out for an interview."

"I don't have an interview. Why would I have an interview?"

"Control of the lab while I was incapacitated. Recovery of a CSI and his son."

"Stepson."

"Stepson. Right. Can't have anyone knowing."

"They could use him against you."

"They could use you against me."

"Sounds like you've made up your mind."

"I have." Mac came in again, softer but still wondering around.

Stella stayed with him for a minute. "At least Reed doesn't mind it." He gave her a questioning look. She nodded her head over to the door. Reed was standing with the blanket from the bed around him.

"Nightmare?" He nodded, wiping his eyes. "I need a bigger couch."

"Better idea." Stella dragged herself up and then helped Mac off the couch. Both of them walked with Reed back to the guest bedroom. Stella helped Mac lay down in the bed. She took his right shoulder while Reed took his left. "Share the blanket." Reed snorted and unwrapped himself.

"This is weird," Mac simplified.

"Agreed," Reed mumbled, settling himself and closing his eyes.

"It works the best," she said, getting a nod of agreement from Mac. They both looked at Reed, who had already fallen asleep. "He does have some of your features. Your eyebrows."

"Claire's cheekbones."

"Your ears."

"Those are my mother's ears."

"Yours too." She tweaked his ear a little. He jerked his head the other way, almost bumping into Reed.

"Would you two stop trying to name which parts came from who? We won't get any sleep if you two keep going," Reed nagged, letting them know he was awake. Stella smiled and shortly laughed. Mac ruffled his hair. "Come on."

"Fine, fine, we're going to sleep. We'll continue in the morning."

"Guys!"

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Okay, so it was moderate SMacked. And a short ending. That leaves me wondering, should I do a sequel?

Review please. :) :)


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